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quibbs126 · 1 year

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So my dad came into my room this morning, asking if I’m actually going to do anything while at home, or if I’m just gonna laze in my bed the entire time I’m here (I’m on summer break, have been for almost 2 weeks). Also about a week ago, my mom told me to clean up my room so I can actually do something productive here, to which I have done very little of aside from move the stuff out that isn’t mine that they just threw in here

I’ll probably rant about the cleaning thing later, since I’m more frustrated about that than anything, but honestly, my problem is that I am just stuck in this state of limbo. I think the best word to describe me (and pretty much any time I’m here, or heck even just my mood in general) is bored. I’m incredibly bored. And so, my mind retreats into itself, being in this state of half aware, and half thinking about random things, trying to form thoughts. And it’s like, I think my brain is so used to being in this state that it just doesn’t want to do anything

Like I don’t want to be in this state of never doing anything, it’s boring and all I end up doing is rewatching the same videos, listening to the same music, playing video games (and even then it’s just Cookie Run at this point, with maybe a daily New Horizons check in. Anything else is a rarity). And I know I have things to do, like chores and stuff for college. But the problem is, getting myself to do anything outside of the status quo is an almost Herculean task and uphill battle that 95% of the time I end up losing. I want to do things, but it’s near impossible to fight my brain to actually do anything, it’s like I’m stuck in my own body, like it’s a prison, but I literally cannot force myself out of it. I say yes to literally any offer to do something by someone else because I have to try and force myself to leave and not be stuck in this state of limbo.

My dad asked me about my low grades this year, citing that I had no roommate or job to distract me, but to be honest, I think those things would have only helped, because it’s less time in limbo and more time in reality, possibly enough to get me to do things (not to mention a job would get me money). But the whole roommate thing was out of my control (I had one, but she didn’t live there), and applying for a job is one of the things my brain refuses to do, so I don’t know how to fix that

And I think this problem has been affecting me for at least the entire year, if not longer. I don’t like being like this, but I don’t know how to stop it

Also can I just swing back around to the room cleaning thing? I just need something to get my mind off this

Okay, so they want me to clean my room, go through my boxes and see what I don’t want/need anymore, and fair, there’s plenty of stuff I don’t use, but question, what am I supposed to do with the things I don’t want??? Because as far as I know, the only option is the trash

Like yeah, I don’t really want half of my books anymore, but what am I supposed to do with them? I’m not throwing these away! I do know a place that buys books, but it’s back at my university, which is an hour and a half drive from here. Or the printer and art tablet. My university has printers in the library you can use, and my major doesn’t really require printed things, and the tablet is for computer drawing, which I don’t really do anymore, I just use my iPad. But like hell we’re throwing those away, they’re expensive! A lot of this stuff I don’t think should just be thrown away, but what do I do with them then???

And where am I supposed to put the things that I do want? I have no storage anymore because they got rid of my shelves! Literally all I have are my desk which I keep clear for obvious reasons, the top of my dresser which is already full and has little space for things in general, a small nightstand which is already full, and boxes. And I can’t put things in my closet either, that’s already full of boxes! How do you expect me to clean my room if at the end of the day, everything still has to be in boxes? Like what do you expect of me?

And going and saying these things risks the idea of me sounding like an idiot, which I always feel like around them because I do not know what they want of me! Like, last week we were going shopping for a Mother’s Day gift, and my dad showed us a picture of a mug my mom wanted, and he just sort of told us to find it. We went and looked around the store for it (by which I mean a quick circle because my brother just decided to follow me instead of fan out) but it wasn’t there. And my dad was like, “did you not think to ask someone or something, you’re just giving up?” Well yes, I would have asked someone, but I remember you thinking that I shouldn’t just go up to workers and ask them things, since we should just find them ourselves, so I didn’t consider that an option! We literally do not know what you want from us! And on Sunday he was showing me how to mow the lawn and was getting annoyed that I didn’t know where to put the basket for the grass (or whatever it’s called) on the lawn mower, but I didn’t understand what he was talking about, and he was just getting increasingly frustrated. I don’t know what you mean by “underneath”, I’ve never used the lawn mower before, nor do I know the anatomy of this basket to know if you mean the underside of the basket (which I don’t even know what that is) or the bottom of the lawnmower, which I also do not know the anatomy of!

And yeah, I’ll admit I do act more an idiot around my parents, especially my dad, but when I don’t know what he wants, I don’t know how to interact with people and he expects me to immediately know and react to what he says, when I don’t. Also not to mention the fact that when I act even a little bit exasperated or have a bit of sass in my response, he raises his voice telling me to stop, at which point I do because I don’t want him angry at me, so my only option is to be an idiot who doesn’t know what’s happening. Not to mention the fact that I’m just generally not to.d things, like where we’re going. When I’m by myself, I’m allowed to be an idiot because there’s no one to criticize me, and I think I do better like that. Also, I know what I’m doing and where I’m going, instead of just being dragged along

*ahem* okay, I think I got carried away there, this is not at all what the original topic was. I think this is more three posts in one, sorry. I just needed to get these things off my chest, you feel me?

#real life stuff #random stuff #rant #sorry I don’t know what to tag this

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gemglyph · 1 year

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Story time.

Class was canceled today, I didn't know that because I missed the email, so I went to class and there was NO ONE there at ALL.. Aside from two people who don't even have class with me. They're not classmates of mine. There's this one girl that I kinda recognize and when I walked in and asked where everyone was she was like "Idk but I came here for help from the Professor". Since she's working on printmaking I kinda go "oh, okay! Anything I can do to help?" And she says I can give it a shot...

I solve her problem in less than five minutes

She has a lino-cut (a linoleum block that artists carve into for printmaking) attached to a wood board. The wood board is. It's Warped. Bent. She says she doesn't understand why. Now, she's been running this wood board through the print press. To do her prints. As one does when they're printmaking. The prints are smearing on the paper. The wood is warped. When you put excessive pressure on wood.. wood warps! The frictions of too much pressure was causing the paper to move and smear the ink.

And. And the professor had simply been telling her to put MORE PRESSURE on the wood as it goes through the press.

I asked her why she didn't try a baren (it's a tool that is used for printmaking to press down on the paper and get the ink off of lino-cuts) first if the print press isn't working and she said she's never used one. Ever. We hunt for a baren. She finds one, then states that she doesn't want to use it and wants to use the print press and I'm like. Okay, but you need to lessen the pressure on the press because your issue is a pressure issue. Too much pressure is causing friction between your paper and your lino-cut. It's also warping your board. She lessens the pressure and voila! It literally fixed her issue. After a bit of prompting as I'm talking to her I find out she's a grad student. Going for a Master's of Arts (different from a Master of Fine Arts). BUT!!!! Her Bachelor's of Fine Arts was concentrated in Digital Art. Which means she does not have the studio experience to problem solve her problem. I am frustrated at the professor for literally telling her to put more pressure on warped wood when it was clearly frustrating this girl. Who doesn't have studio experience and genuinely didn't know.

That's fucked up. What the fuck.

#this is also the teacher that made another friend of mine cry #this doesn't even. cover what happened at home after but whatever #loft chitters

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glitterock · 1 year

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hiii I'm super interested in making a zine as a passion project, but I have absolutely no idea where to start. I wanted to ask, what will you use to edit and make the zine? and what will you use for different graphics and images in it? will you get them off of google, or use them from the software you use to make the zine? sorry for all the questions haha I'm just really curious!

hey ! so im using a bunch of different things haha so for as far as graphics/images i have an illustration degree (3 years of art school coming in handy) so I’m drawing and editing them all myself using the app procreate. It’s all my own photography/graphics/illustrations that i’ve taken or drawn (aside from anything people have sent in). Then in order to do the book layout im planning on using adobe InDesign so that I can send it off to a printer. the great thing about zines though is that they can be as DIY as you want! it literally can be printed out/photo copied pages that are stapled/folded/saddle stitched together. i personally will be printing mine through a local zine printer (irrelevant press) so that it can be bound the way i want. i hope this information is helpful!

#anon

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copperbora · 6 months

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My Horrible Adventures with Etsy

My journey with my new Etsy shop began after Redbubble changed some policies that at the moment, I can't remember what my fuss even was. In any case, I didn't like Redbubble's changes, and I had been chafing, wanting different things than Redbubble was offering, so I researched other print-on-demand platforms and immediately found Printful, which unlike Redbubble, partners with more conventional shopfront websites like Etsy, Shopify, Bigcartel and WooCommerce.

Why Print-on-Demand?

I'm fucking poor. I full stop cannot afford to order and keep a physical inventory of product so for me print-on-demand is the only answer. I literally cannot even afford my own housing where I live (I have to live with my retired dad,) so physical product inventory is completely out of the question. Currently, I only make $1,200 a month with my day job... if I'm lucky. This is while living in the most expensive place for housing in the entire landmass of North America, the Canadian province of British Columbia. Moving isn't an option as I can't even afford housing where it is cheaper in Canada, plus doing so would remove me from my family which is a no-go socially. I don't have a partner to rely on for social support: I need my family which means that I need to stay put where I am in British Columbia, at least for now.

Where do the Woes Begin?

It started with Etsy repeatedly removing my listings despite all of my art being obviously hand drawn by me (and my being able to prove it with timelapse videos,) and the use of a print-on-demand service falling well within Etsy's rules. Frustrated, I added an infographic advertising the fact that my work is absolutely mine to every single one of my listings. This did nothing. I was still somehow violating Etsy's handmade policy and I couldn't figure out why.

This is their policy, by the way:

"Handmade on Etsy is a spectrum. On one end, we have makers — sellers who are literally making their items with their own hands (or tools). On the other end, we have designers — sellers who design their items but rely entirely on outside assistance or another business to help physically produce them. Many handmade sellers fall in the middle of the spectrum because they are both making and designing their items."

Then I got the email that I took a screenshot of and included here. Unless I fixed the unknown problem, Etsy was going to suspend my account and I wouldn't be able to get it back for at least six months. Frustrated and stressed, I desperately combed over the email and my Etsy seller account, struggling to figure out what I was missing. This can be easier said than done for me because I am dyslexic, so my brain tends to skip over some of the information that I read without me even knowing about it. I also have ADHD, so my ability to focus on non-fiction jargon is even worse than usual.

You would think a creative marketplace company like Etsy would understand that not all people's brain can easily parse written instructions, except there were no real instructions in the email at all. Printful never gave me instructions for this either, which is weird considering that they want you to sell their stuff on platforms like Etsy. There were no notes that I needed to go in manually to do anything. It was only because I had already been fudging around with my listings that I finally noticed that there was a widget called 'Core Details' which needed to be edited.

At long last I had figured out that I needed to physically add a production partner - Etsy has a bulk editing option for this, but since I discovered that that option is extremely glitchy, I had to (in a panic, scared again that my shop would be banned,) edit and check every single listing to make certain that Printful was displayed as my production partner. Fixed at last, I breathed a sign of relief.

Etsy Didn't Tell Me..

...after my credit card was recently stolen that it was debiting the $.20 USD ($.28 CAD) against my future sales so when my aunt kindly bought a blanket off of me I couldn't understand why I wasn't being paid the full amount for the purchase, not even enough money to even cover its production cost. After a lot of stress and emailing I finally discovered that Etsy was charging my future sales instead of my new credit card. I still don't know if I managed to fix this or not, but in any case I took a financial hit on my aunt's sale. Hoping that I wouldn't have any more problems, I turned my mind back to other matters in my life, thinking that I could relax about my shop.

But Then I Got THIS Email!

That's right, Etsy isn't going to give me 100% of my funds after fees for three months (even though my shop has already been open for longer than that.) Since most of the cost of my product listings is my cost, this means I won't even make profit on any of my listings for a quarter of a year. This is absolutely infuriating, especially because I didn't start this shop as a hobby, but because I need money to survive, because I want to be able to support myself financially with my art because conventional day jobs just aren't working for me. I raised the prices on my items but the burn still hurts. A friend mentioned that I could sell on Ko-fi instead which would net me 100% of the funds right away, so that I never go into debt for my sales even temporarily, so I began slowly adding items to my Ko-fi shop where I already had listings for commissions. (This is still a work in progress as I write this.)

Printful's Return Policy Sucks

This one isn't Etsy's fault, but it sure hurts too and Printful never directly explained what their policy was when I was getting into doing this so like a nincompoop I just left the default 30 day Printful return policy on my items. Simply put, because Printful is a print-on-demand company they do not accept returns or refund for buyer's remorse or even for incorrect sizing (no exchanges whatsoever.) Today I learned that an apparel item that I had sold was the wrong size for my customer so I looked up Printful's return policy and learned that Printful is never going to refund me for what I paid for my customer's item

I quickly got rid of the default Printful return policy on my Etsy shop, but now I'm going to be out $60 which I couldn't afford to lose in order to refund my poor customer. Coming from a decade of working in retail I feel bad not being able to accept returns or exchanges now, but I just can't afford to swallow any costs. It's bad enough how long Etsy takes to pay me even just 70% of of my sales; by the time that they do, Printful has already taken the item cost from me.

Apart from Ko-fi, I'm not Entirely Sure What to do Now.

At the moment I plan on leaving my cheaper listings - cotton t-shirts, stickers, toques/beanies and headbands on my Etsy store and treat it as a gateway to my Ko-fi. However, Ko-fi isn't really an option for growing my business because I have never been a successful artist when it comes to offering commissions and the only people who are going to readily find my Ko-fi are my friends and other artists. The problem with us creative people is while we really love supporting each other by buying each other's merch, we're also often kind of financially challenged because a good pecentage of us are neurodivergent (conventional day jobs are hard for us. It's like asking a Windows computer to run a program coded for Apple.)

I need to have my products available to strangers who have never heard of me before, who stumble across my work because they love wolves or other animals. So, I need to research a new commerce platform. Right now I'm muddling over learning more about WooCommerce and Weebly. I like the idea of a platform that posts ads on social media where strangers might encounter them and buy my work but I may need to launch a website which is yet another monthly fee.

I Haven't Earned Anything; I've LOST Money Instead.

Before I removed all the listings from my Etsy shop I had over 200 listings, each of which cost me $.20 USD ($.28 CAD) a pop. Since at least half of those had to be relisted after three months, all those listings really add up. Now, with Etsy refusing to pay me all of my money, plus ads that I paid for, and with the confusion with Printful's ridiculous return policy I think that I'm out at least $200 which I couldn't afford to spend. All of the Youtube videos about commerce platforms preach Etsy as the best site for artists to sell their work on but I almost want to remove my shop entirely.

I read multiple things about Etsy not being great for artists before I went into this venture but truthfully the Youtube videos that I watched which said the opposite really confused me. Despite its ridiculous return policy I still like Printful but until I make a proper amount of money with it I won't be able to offer refunds at all.

Mostly, I feel like a complete idiot because my dyslexia caused me to not immediately notice particular details* and I'm upset that Etsy and Printful weren't more transparent in their communications with me. The production partner issue could have been solved with a simple picture tutorial included in the email, or even just more detailed instructions instead of the ambiguous 'review your listings' that they wrote into it. Further, as many of my friends have mentioned, Etsy's seller fees are just plain high. It's definitely not a good platform for artists at all.

I'm very grateful to all of my friends and fellow artists for trying to warn people, warn me, that Etsy is no good. I'm upset that my glitchy brain required me to learn why Etsy sucks the hard way, by trying. Hopefully someday I can still find a way to support myself with my creativity and stop hurting from my complete lack of financial independance because normal work is too stressful for me (not to mention how it is damaging my drawing hand's wrist to the point that my doctor is talking about carpal tunnel surgery.)

I'm deeply glad that I never got around to printing any business cards for my Etsy shop; it will continue to exist, for now, as a gateway to my Ko-fi shop and hopefully someday other online marketplaces.

___________________________________________

*This isn't the first time that my dyslexia has screwed me over and it unfortunately probably will not be the last. It prevented me from pursuing my childhood dream career of becoming a wildlife biologist by making math an absolute agony of stressful frustration.

#etsyseller #artists on etsy #etsy sucks #do not open an etsy shop #Printful isn't the greatest either

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octaviasdread · 3 years

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any girls! dark academia movie recs? i really struggle to find anything not about a group of boys (as much as I love them)

SO MANY!!! This is probably a far more detailed answer than you were expecting but this is a popular question and I want to keep a list for myself and others.

Feel free to add to it/give opinions. I've tried to give a tw for anything I can remember

Girls! Dark Academia Movies/TV Shows

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

1950s Women’s college

Art professor! Julia Roberts

She’s legit the female Mr Keating of the art & college world

Feminism vs. Tradition

Maggie Gyllenhall x Ginnifer Goodwin; their characters were more than friends. Fight me.

Does not end how you expect

Strike!/All I Wanna Do/The Hairy Bird (1998)

MY FAVOURITE!!!

Free on YouTube under one of its various names

Comedy

1960s all girls boarding school

Young Kirsten Dunst

Group of girls plot to sabotage a merger with a boys school less prestigious than their own

Secret attic clubhouse meetings of the D.A.R aka Daughters of the American Ravioli (eaten cold, ew)

girls get political & advocate for their rights using ANY elaborate and chaotic scheme

TW: eating disorder, vomiting & creepy male teacher but the girls plot against him too

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)

based on a short book I read for uni by Muriel Spark

1930s girls school in Edinburgh

Scottish teacher! Maggie Smith, controversial with a focus on romantic ideals

Spoiler alert, the liberal teacher is actually a fascist

Her group of fave students has cult- vibes and it’s fascinating

Picnic at Hanging Rock

1970s movie or 2018 mini series

Never watched either but I plan to

Wild Child (2008)

00s romcom every UK teen girl loves

Emma Roberts as the spoiled rich American teenager sent to a strict English boarding school

Plots to get herself expelled but oh no she’s making friends with the girls who help her

And the headmistress has a hot son, and he’s nice??? Double oh no

ICONIC SCENES

Everything! Goes! Wrong!

omg she burns the school down

Feel good, comfort, nostalgia

St Trinians (2007)

English girls boarding school

The kids are all criminals, no joke

So are the teachers

CHAOTIC

gay awakening for british girls

Art heist pulled off by school girls

Government tries to shut them down but oh no, the education minister & the headmistress are ex-lovers

Colin Firth x Rupert Everett in drag

Superior cast: Jodie Whittaker, Gemma Arterton, Juno Temple, Stephen Fry, Colin Firth, etc...

embodies the phrase 'problematic fave'

St Trinians 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold (2009)

Mystery, pirate ancestors, hidden treasure

omg Shakespeare was a woman

girls disguised as boys to infiltrate and rob the posh boys school

Villain! David Tennant in that ICONIC boat scene

Teen girls vs. ancient misogynist brotherhood

like the first film but MORE chaotic and BETTER!???

The Falling (2014)

1960s all girls school

best friends! but its unrequited love

Agoraphobic + distant mother aka mommy issues

Sudden death and the school suppresses/ignores the students grief, sparking mass hysteria & a fainting epidemic in the girls

Cast: Maisie Williams (GoT) & Florence Pugh (Little Women) & Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders)

TW: teen pregnancy, death, vomiting, underage s*x, sibling inc*st, past s*xual assault

READ THE PLOT SUMMARY FIRST

The Book Thief (2013)

Based on an amazing book by Markus Zusak

set in 1940s Nazi Germany

Daughter of a communist whose family were taken by the Nazis/died is fostered by an older couple who teach her to read & she paints a dictionary on the basement walls

Coming of age story about a compulsive book thief. No joke, this kid steals books from banned book burnings and breaks into the mayor's library through the window

Family hides the Jewish son of an old friend in their basement and he helps her to start writing about her experiences in the war

TW: death, bombings, WW2 anti-semitism

Mary Shelley (2017)

Overall good & roughly biographical

Pretty costumes and aesthetic

Modern feminist take on Mary Shelly in her own time period

So many INACCURACIES for the drama so don’t take it as truth

Percy Shelley slander and not all of it is justified

Cast: Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth, and Maisie Williams

The Secret Garden (1993)

Based on a fave childhood book

1901 colonial India & Yorkshire, England

Orphaned, spoilt & neglected girl sent to live with her reclusive Uncle in the English countryside

Gothic elements, mysteries, secret doors/passages/locked gardens

local boy with a flock of animals, magic, kids chanting around a fire and all around immaculate vibes

Happy ending!!!

Hidden Figures (2016)

African-American women as mathematicians for NASA

1960s space project

Women balancing a career and family obligations

Deals with racial & gender discrimination

Loosely based on the lives of Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan who worked for NASA as engineers & mathematicians

Anne of Green Gables (1985) & sequel (1987)

Adaptation L.M. Montgomery’s ‘Anne of Green Gables’ books

Canada (late 1890s/early 1900s)

Highly imaginative & bookworm orphan is adopted by a reclusive elderly brother and sister duo

Small town & school years comedic drama

Unrequited Enemies -> Friends -> lovers

Inspiring new woman teacher

Girls re-enact Tennyson’s poem and nearly drown for the aesthetic™

Dramatic poetry reading with INTENSE 👀eye contact👀

Writer! Anne & English teacher! Anne dealing with unruly girls school antics

Collette (2018)

biographical drama on french writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Collette

Victorian & Edwardian era France

More talented than her husband so she ghostwrites for him

Fight for creative ownership of her wildly successful novels

Affairs with a woman called Georgie and also with Missy, born female but masculine presenting

Cast: Keira Knightly, Dominic West, Eleanor Tomlinson (Poldark)

Enola Holmes (2020)

Netflix book adaptation

Younger sister of Sherlock Holmes

Victorian era! feminism/suffragettes

Mother-daughter focus

Mystery, adventure, secret codes, teens running away & escaping from (and eventually fighting) assassins

Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Fiona Shaw, Millie Bobby Brown

Ginger & Rosa (2012)

1960s England

best friends since literal birth navigating troubled teen years

poet & anti-nuclear activist! Ginger

off the rails but also catholic! Rosa

Shout out to Mark & Mark the gay godfathers we all want

family troubles

TW: older man has an affair with a 17 yr old

Testament of Youth (2014)

based on WW1 memoir by Vera Brittain

young woman (writer & poetry lover) escapes traditional family & goes to study at Oxford University

abandons to become a war nurse

romance, tragedy and war trauma

Cast: Alicia Vikander, Kit Harrington (GoT), Taron Edgerton (Rocketman), Colin Morgan (Merlin)

Little Women (2019)

Writer! Jo & Artist! Amy

Mother/daughter focus and sister dynamics

the March sisters’ theatre club is *chefs kiss*

champagne problems edits of Jo x Laurie are a mood

Ambivalent ending perfectly captures Louisa May Alcott’s dilemma with the book the movie is based on

set in 1860s America

ALL STAR CAST and a Greta Gerwig masterpeice

Lady Bird (2017)

coming of age in early 2002/2003 Sacramento, California

all girls catholic school

writer! Christine aka Lady Bird wants to get outta town and start her life again at college 'in a city with culture'

Mother/daughter dynamics - so realistic!

I live for that Jesus car stunt & the nun's reaction

school theatre program

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein

Another Greta Gerwig gem

Beguiled (2017)

Virginia, civil war era

Girls school with only five students and two teachers left

Find an injured Union army soldier & bring him inside

Women & teenagers want his attention (v. problematic) before uniting against him

(tbh you'll either love it, hate it, or watch once & forget it)

Sofia Coppola film so its very feminine gaze

TW: violence, death, underage

Legally Blonde (2001)

No questions will be taken

Elle Woods was the blue print

TV series:

House of Anubis (2011-2013)

I know it’s a kids/young teen show but I still unironically love it

ANCIENT EGYPT!!!!

Modern day with Victorian era links to treasure hunters & Egyptian research expeditions (stealing from tombs)

Chosen one plot lines, curses, kidnapping, mysteries, secret tunnels under the school, elixir of life

Teens have investigate & protect themselves cus oh no the TEACHERS are involved in some shady stuff

new American kid at British boarding school is the actual premise not just a fanfic au

Nostalgic, light-hearted, funny, and kinda cheesy but I will accept no criticism

The Alienist (2018 -now)

Mid 1890s, New York

Woman’s private detective agency (Season 2)

Serial killer mystery

Woman secretary turns detective and teams up with a criminal psychiatrist and a newspaper editor to solve crime

TW: violence, child pr*stit*tion

Cast: Dakota Fanning, Luke Evans, Daniel Bruhl

The Queen’s Gambit (2020)

Woman chess prodigy

1950s & 1960s

TW: drug & alcohol abuse

Gentleman Jack (2019 - now)

Based on the diaries of Anne Lister

Victorian Yorkshire, England

Upper-class lesbians

Confident, suit wearing! Anne Lister x shy! Ann Walker

Business woman! Anne running the family mines

Cast: Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster) & Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders)

TW: violence

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

bubbly/ambitious single mom + intelligent daughter

bookworm! Rory Gilmore gets into a prestigious private school and then an Ivy League college

Small town drama is comedic gold

Fast dialogue packed with pop culture and literary references

Comforting & nostalgic

TEAM JESS

Anne with an E (2017-2019)

Loose adaptation of L.M. Montgomery’s ‘Anne of Green Gables’ books

they completely change the plot lines but it’s still very good content!

Orphan girl with trauma and a love of books/poetry is adopted by an elderly brother & sister duo, bringing light and fresh ideas to a rural community

Feminism, girls writing club, lgbtq safe spaces, girls eduction, black/indigenous representation

Miss Stacy as THAT inspiring teacher

Aunt Josephine’s lavish gay parties have my heart

TW: creepy male teacher tries to marry a student, racial discrimination, indigenous assimilation school

Victoria (2016-2019)

Adaption of Queen Victoria’s life

Victoria navigating her political, royal, and personal life

Albert’s involvement with The Great Exhibition, 1851 (on cultural + industrial innovations)

Alfred Paget x Edward Drummond is exquisite

Gorgeous costumes and aesthetics

TW: bury your gays trope

Derry Girls (2018-now)

1990s Northern Ireland during the troubles

Comedy, episodes 20-25 mins long

English boy sent to an all girls Catholic school with his cousin

✨Dead Poets Society parody episode ✨with a free-spirited female teacher

Sister Michael, the sarcastic nun who hates her job & reads the exorcist for giggles

Wee anxious lesbian! Clare Devlin (plus her friends wearing rainbow pins)

Badass with bad ideas! Michelle Mallon

Main Character! Erin Quinn

Lovable weirdo who would fight a polar bear! Orla McCool

Wee English fella & honorary Derry girl! James Maguire

Dickinson (2019-now)

Loose adaption of the poet Emily Dickinson’s life

Set in 19th century Massachusetts, US

Historical drama with modern dialogue & music that works SEAMLESSLY

gives a great understanding of Emily Dickinson’s poems

💕Vintage gays! Emily x Sue💕

Theatre club, writing, poetry, dressing as men to sneak into lectures, love letters, teen drama, feminism, and an underground abolitionist journal as a brief side plot in season 2

Wiz Khalifa plays death in a horse drawn carriage

TW: opium use

A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019)

Based on great childhood books

Bookworm! brother, Inventor! sister, and baby sister with sharp teeth

Mystery, secret organisations, orphaned siblings figuring things out & fending for themselves against the villain after their fortune

Adults either cartoon evil, comedically incompetent, or SPIES

Boarding school, library owner, scientific researcher, and theatre episodes

Ambiguous time period which is really fun to try and pin point

Killing Eve (2018-now)

Classic detective who has homoerotic tension with the assassin she is tracking down

British Detective! Eve Polastri figures out the notorious assassin MI5 are investigating is a woman, is fired & then put on a secret MI6 case with a small team

Assassin! Villanelle, a psychopath with a tragic past and a mastery of both accents & fashion

Woman MI6 boss! Carolyn Martens, head of Russian section

Travel Europe following Villanelle’s killings and escaping the assassins sent by Villanelle’s organisation

‘You’re supposed to be my enemy and moral opposite but omg you’re the only one smart enough to get me and why am I obsessed with you????'

🚨 GO IN FOR A KISS AND THEN STAB YOUR ENEMY 🚨

Cable Girls/Las chicas del cable (2017-2020)

Spanish drama set in 1920s Madrid

Four young women at a telecommunications company form a group of friends and help navigate the difficult situations they are all in

Secret identities, dangerous pasts, murder, crime, lgbtq couple & throuple, trans man character, feminism/suffragists

girls commit crimes for humanitarian reasons and cover! it! up!

UNDERRATED SHOW!!!!

Gorgeous costumes and set

Haven’t finished it yet and I’m catching up

TW: abuse, violence, death

Outlander (2014 - now)

haven’t watched yet but plan to

Woman time travels to Scotland, 1743

Rebel highlanders, pirates, British colonies, American revolutionary war

Time jumps between 18th & 20th century

#CO posts #answered asks #asks #dark academia girls #dark academia recommendations #dark academia recs #dark academia women #dark academia movies #dark academia tv

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ladyartemesia · 4 years

Text

The Secret

◐ PART IV of THE ALPHA ◐

◐ Part I ◐ Part II ◐ Part III ◐ Series Masterlist ◐

Pairing: Alpha Werewolf Jimin x Omega Reader

Rating: Mature (for this installment)

Warnings: ABO sexual dynamics including discussion of scenting, marking, mating, and claiming. Violence and discussion of violence relating to ritual combat. Jin’s pheromones need their own warning. Yoonji and Yunli are not the same person.

Word Count: 3600

Author’s Note: This update literally made me sob because I edited it and formatted it and it just disappeared when I posted. I seriously felt my heart drop because it took so long to format... ANYWAYS I wonder if anyone guessed the secret.

”You can’t do this, Luna ... Come back inside.”

Your hand tightened on the doorknob.

“I was just going out for some air-”

Jin shook his head, letting his lanky frame collapse onto the overstuffed chair by the fireplace.

“And after the air... then what?”

Your terse silence was confirmation enough.

He sighed heavily, hating himself a little for what he had to do.

“You cannot go to him. They’ll smell you on his skin and it could cost him... dearly.”

Your eyes fluttered shut.

“I just wanted to see him...,” you whispered. “I wanted to talk to him just once before-”

A sob bubbled up in your throat and your hand flew up to cover it.

The dawn would come in two hours.

And then Park Jimin would be gone.

Jin’s arms wrapped around your shoulders and you fell against him hopelessly.

“They’re going to make me watch, Jin-ah. I-I have to watch him-”

Bitter tears overtook you, wracking your body with the violence of your despair.

“I know...,” he murmured softly into your hair, “I know.”

“Do you think he’ll really show up?”

The chief elder glared fiercely at the young man who dared voice such a question.

The entire pack had jammed themselves into the clearing where the challenge was taking place and despite the solemnity of the occasion, the atmosphere buzzed with barely contained speculation.

“Park Jimin was chosen by the goddess herself to be her champion or to be the divine test of her champion. Have some respect,” he hissed.

The young pup had the decency to look abashed, but the chief elder was already ignoring him in favor of the newest arrival...

A Luna wore only three ceremonial colors at any given time.

Green for celebration and harvest was worn in times of laughter and gaiety.

Blue for mourning and peaceful resolve was worn in times of trial and hardship.

Red for passion and vengeance was worn in times of war and signified the sacred bonds that wove the pack together.

Your mother laid out a blue cloak as it was the color chosen by every Luna who had ever faced down a provocatione ritual.

But you arrived in sumptuous Red.

It was a stunning act of defiance, a wordless declaration of your fury. You were here to obey the goddess, but in a crimson cloak you would not embrace this challenge with peaceful resolve.

An attack upon your mate, even under these circumstances, was an attack upon you.

You had come dressed for war.

Jimin heard the gasps echo around his meditation cell.

He and Namjoon arrived at the sacred circle a full hour before dawn and sequestered themselves in the small, free-standing hovels on opposing sides of the the site.

The tiny pods were spaces for an individual to commune with the goddess and center themselves before engaging in the typically life-altering events that brought them there.

Sometimes it was marriage or celebration, sometimes it was acceptance to one of the guilds or a promotion to a higher rank within your family’s clan...

Today it was life and death and the future of the pack that weighed upon the combatants’ shoulders.

The sudden swell of movement and sound pulled Jimin from his meditative state.

What happened?

He got his answer soon after an elder came to escort him into the circle.

It was you.

Your hands and feet were bound to the ornately carved chair they had seated you in. This was a typical precaution because it was natural for a wolf to defend their mate if they were in danger and the restraints kept the Luna from doing so.

The pain in your gaze was agonizing, but in red, flowing down from your shoulders with fiery obstinance, you were every inch the warrior queen.

Yet it was not your rebellious cloak or even your incredible beauty that caused his heart to pound and stutter in glorious shock...

It was the familiar praesidium bracelet wrapped around your wrist; an intimate message of devotion that he and he alone would understand.

Pride and possessiveness roared to life in Jimin’s chest.

She’s mine.

“You look... surprisingly calm.”

Taehyung jerked guiltily.

“What? Me? I don’t know anything - I mean I’m not calm - I’m frantic. I - I don’t even understand the question.”

Yoongi’s eyebrows raised right up into his hairline.

“Taehyung-ah? Did you put those special mushrooms in your broth this morning? You’re acting a bit strange-”

“No,” Taehyung’s voice cracked. “This is me - this is totally normal me. I’m not - there were no mushrooms-” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “So - uh - how’s Yoonji?”

“Oh my go- really?!”

The chief elder began to recite his speech, reminding the pack of the profound significance this moment carried...

But Yunli could barely hear his words over the ringing in her ears. Her gaze fixed on Namjoon from the moment the elder brought him forward... yet he had not glanced toward her once.

He looked so strong and confident.

So capable of victory.

A faint whimper of abject sorrow worked its way passed her lips and Namjoon’s eyes flew to her instantly.

As if he had always known exactly where she was.

Longing split his features for a fraction of a second.

Then his gaze shuttered again and Yunli’s wolf howled in silent, mournful agony.

Anticipation bore down upon the assembly as the chief elder uttered the last few sentences with reluctant finality.

The moment had come.

Both alphas stepped into the circle.

You began to tug frantically - futilely - against the bonds. Jin’s hand gripped yours as a tear slipped heedlessly down his cheek.

“I’m sorry,” Namjoon whispered - to you - to Yunli - to Jimin -

To himself.

Then his claws lengthened to a deadly point and he tore forward with a chilling snarl.

Jimin remained unnaturally still, watching his rival barrel towards him with almost calculated intent.

Namjoon’s arm drew back to land the first strike and-

———◐———

Last Night...

———◐———

“Wait - WHAT?!”

“It was... me. I broke the table.”

Taehyung drew back slowly. His eyebrows furrowed in profound confusion.

“With what? A jackhammer!?”

Jimin tilted his head in amusement.

“Hammerfist strike... actually.” He shrugged. “I lost my temper.”

“You - You lost your-“ Tae began shaking his head rapidly. “Is it a spell of some sort?! Goddess you know better than to get tangled up with witches! You let them give you a band aid and then they show up ten years later asking for your firstborn!”

Jimin rolled his eyes.

“Of course not! No... it’s...” he bit his lip. “You remember that time I came to your house a little too early and... Yoonji had you tied to a bed...”

Tae paled.

“We agreed never to speak of that.”

“And I haven’t - spoken of it - especially since Yoongi still thinks his precious baby cousin is unaware of big bad boy wolves and if he found out you were corrupting her-”

“Wait. You think I was corrupting her?!“

“The point is... it’s a secret. And I know you have your reasons for keeping it that way so... I hope you’ll understand what I’m about to tell you...”

———◐———

Fourteen Years Ago...

———◐———

Jimin’s hands fidgeted nervously over the flyer that the human boy offered him.

“But I’m only in Seoul for the summer.”

Just long enough to miss Alpha Camp entirely.

“That’s perfect because it’s only a summer program. Seriously, you were so fast catching that jar I knocked over. Your reflexes are amazing and it looks like you’ve got the perfect build for it too.” He tapped the flyer for emphasis. “Think about it.”

No one had ever told Park Jimin that he would be good at anything like this. In fact most people told him he needed to be better...

Bigger.

Stronger.

His eyes traveled over the large letters printed at the top of the brochure.

“Taekwondo...”

——◐——

“...so thank you all again for signing up and attending the orientation. I will see you tomorrow for our first class.”

A strange sense of anticipation hummed through Jimin as he gathered his coat. He was finally doing something for himself; something that had nothing to do with being an alpha-

“You’re a wolf, aren’t you...”

The young instructor who gave the initial demonstration and spoke for most of the orientation stood behind him with his arms crossed.

Jimin’s eyes widened in shock.

“How did you know?”

The stranger tapped his nose.

“My grandfather had a human mate and his pack exiled him for it. I’m mostly human, but this nose can pick up another wolf’s scent just as well as yours.”

Modern packs didn’t exile wolves with human mates anymore, but fifty years ago the practice was still unfortunately common.

“I’m sorry about your grandfather.”

The young man smiled.

“He lived a long happy life with his mate and his family. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” He stretched out his hand. “Lee Taemin.”

“Park Jimin.”

They shook firmly, and Taemin continued to examine him with unconcealed interest.

“Tell me, Park Jimin, what’s an alpha wolf doing all the way out in Seoul? The only pack around here married their last child into one of the mountain nations years ago.”

“That was my mother, actually... I’m here visiting my grandmother.”

Taemin tilted his head curiously.

“I’ve never known wolves to be interested in human martial arts. You lot prefer to fight shifted... In fact, I doubt a mountain wolf could even throw a punch,” he snorted, “not that they’d need to with those fangs.”

Jimin’s shoulders fell a little.

“So... you don’t think I’ll be good at it.”

“On the contrary, I think you could be incredible.”

The young wolf’s face brightened immediately.

“Really?! Even if I’m not as strong as other wolves?”

“Taekwondo isn’t about strength. It’s about speed. Master the speed and the strength will follow.”

———◐———

“Relax your body. Focus your energy.”

Jimin drew in a deep breath as he moved through the pattern Taemin taught him.

“The power and speed of your wolf is constant, but most wolves do not bother channeling it in human form. Concentrate on your wolf and bring that power into your strike.”

His hand came down on the thin press wood and-

It hurt. A lot.

Taemin chuckled as Jimin cussed and swore, cradling his tender fist grouchily.

“You’ll get it. Just keep practicing.”

“Are you sure I’ll be able to break the boards one day?”

The boy’s face was so round and adorably hopeful. Taemin nodded confidently and offered him some ice.

“A human with training can break boards, but a wolf who harnessed his natural speed and strength could break much more than that.”

———◐———

Twelve Years Ago...

———◐———

“You’ve improved a great deal since last summer. Were you finally able to find a teacher near your pack?”

“Yes - but... she’s not as good as you.”

Finding a local Taekwondo teacher had been the easy part.

Constantly making up excuses to explain his habitual disappearances...

That was trickier.

His mother thought he was hunting with Taehyung, Taehyung thought he was sniffing around some human girl and needed a buddy to cover his tracks.

Sneaking away to practice wasn’t too difficult, but he panicked when Yoongi caught him moving through forms in the woods once and pretended to be doing an interpretive dance.

With no music.

Yoongi had looked at him a little funny since then.

Taemin grinned. “Of course she’s not as good as me. I’m the best. Now take position and let’s see if you can finally land this kick.”

———◐———

Ten Years Ago...

———◐———

Jimin glared at the thick oak board Taemin sent him home with this year.

“It’s a 4x6 solid oak plank. I want you to break it before the winter solstice.”

He snorted, positioning the board between the makeshift vices he fashioned to hold it in place.

“Sure, I’ll just get right on that.”

“...Who are you talking to?”

Jimin groaned internally.

Of course.

“Hey guys,” he turned to greet Jungkook and Hoseok brightly (while completely ignoring the question). “Where - where are you two headed today?”

Jungkook’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“One of the elders is going to teach us how to build traps! He invited all the unmated alphas to go with him past the boundary lines to test whatever we make!”

A familiar embarrassment settled heavily in Jimin stomach.

“Oh... I uh... I didn’t hear that.”

“I’m sure it was just a mistake that they didn’t call for you,” Hoseok rushed to reassure him. “You could come with us. I don’t think the elder would mind.”

The older boy’s gaze was filled with discomfort... and pity.

Jimin cleared his throat and forced up a sunny smile.

“No that’s fine - I have work to do anyways so...”

Jungkook nodded quickly, desperate to escape the unexpectedly awkward conversation.

“Have fun!” he shouted, already beginning to jog away.

Jimin watched quietly as their figures grew smaller, waiting till their clumsy steps no longer disturbed the stillness around him.

He should be used to it by now...

The passive rejection.

It shouldn’t bother him anymore. There was no malicious intent... just casual dismissal again and again and again-

An angry roar tore past his lips as he brought his hand down on the board.

It cracked in half.

———◐———

Eight Years Ago...

———◐———

“It’s strange but - I feel like the better I become at this, the stronger my wolf is.”

“That isn’t strange at all. You and your wolf are two halves of a whole. The more you balance your energy, the more your strengths can be shared. Now - stop stalling and get to it.”

Jimin eyed Taemin’s latest idea with a reluctant groan.

“None of the other students have to break cinder block.”

“None of the other students are wolves. Besides, it’s been 6 years, you’ve broken stacks of boards. It’s time for a real challenge.”

“I’m lucky I haven’t broken a bone,” Jimin mumbled irritably.

He did that day, but it was healed in a week and he broke his first cinderblock a month later.

———◐———

Five Years Ago...

———◐———

“Remember, timing is everything. Never let your opponent see what you’re going to do.”

“How many times do you think I’ve heard that over the last ten years?”

“Not enough, clearly. You’re still telegraphing with that right foot.”

Jimin’s left hand shot out and connected with Taemin’s jaw.

“Am I?”

Taemin blinked up at him from the floor.

“Ok. I admit. That was pretty impressive.”

———◐———

Three Years Ago...

———◐———

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I was looking for Jin.”

Jimin scrambled to his feet, dumping the pile of pebbles he collected (for his mother’s garden) noisily to the ground.

“Luna...”

He took a discreet step backward as your gaze scanned the area in frustration.

“You haven’t seen my cousin, have you?”

Jimin gulped.

He had seen Kim Seokjin - leading a curvy beta girl (nose first no doubt) in the direction of the old wading pool. It took every bit of self-restraint he possessed not to laugh out loud each time Jin bashfully declared that he was a ‘good boy’ and to ‘be gentle with him,’ - after all, he’d given the same speech to two other she-wolves last week.

Best not to scar her for life. Some things cannot be unseen.

His mind darted briefly to the scene he’d walked into at Taehyung’s house yesterday.

“I have no idea where Seokjin is, Luna.”

You sighed, gnawing absently at your lip while you considered his words, and Jimin felt a familiar hint of futile longing whisper through him.

He’d never been so close to you, and now that he was, his wolf was making all sorts of insane suggestions to keep you near.

Do a backflip. Climb a tree. Build her a house.

Jimin bent quickly to gather his scattered stones, ashamed at the direction of his thoughts.

You were so incredibly beautiful...

It was almost enough to make him forget that he would only ever be Park Jimin.

He couldn’t blame the others for fighting and fawning over your attention like they did. You were the moon and every man around you was drawn in like the tide.

“Today is my seventeenth birthday, you know.”

Jimin looked up to discover that you had moved much closer and were now looking down at him expectantly.

He blinked. Twice.

“I - yes. I did know.”

The entire pack was celebrating. He’d have to be comatose not to know.

“Should I save you a dance, Park Jimin?”

Up until that exact second, Jimin would have bet his life savings that you did not know his name.

Yet here you were - so very close to him - gazing down into his eyes almost shyly.

He nodded because he couldn’t think of a single reason not to give you anything you wanted. And when you smiled so brilliantly - he almost believed that you truly wanted to dance with him...

Almost.

He never went to your party.

He never danced with you.

Not that day. Not ever.

Because deep down he suspected that if he held you in his arms - even once - he would never truly let go.

He was sure you wouldn’t notice his absence... You wouldn’t remember talking to him by the time the evening rolled around.

He never saw you search the crowds for his face right up until the midnight bell.

He never saw you turn down dance after dance hoping that the beautiful boy from the forest would finally come and take your hand.

He was your only wish that birthday.

But he never knew.

———◐———

One Year Ago...

———◐———

“I’ve never seen anything like your skill. You’ve long since surpassed me. I’m not sure what more I can teach you,” Taemin smiled, bumping Jimin on the shoulder, “Perhaps you should find a woman and spend a little less time practicing.”

An unwelcome flash of silver eyes and a laugh like sunshine danced through his mind.

“No. I’m... not really the type wolf girls go for.”

Taemin snorted.

“I don’t believe that. Aren’t you an alpha?”

“Yes, but it’s... complicated.”

“Isn’t everything?”

Jimin laughed.

“Yes, I suppose it is.”

Silence settled comfortably between them as they nursed several bottles of soju on his grandmother’s porch. Taemin had charmed the old hellion quite thoroughly and he would often drop by for a visit even when Jimin was back home with his pack.

“So what will you do now?” he asked. “You can’t compete. I can barely withstand sparring with you, and you’d kill a human - even if you landed a blow at half strength.”

Jimin ran his fingers absently through his hair while he pondered his mentor’s words.

“I learned to fight because I was searching for something that would help me sort out who I was.” He scoffed. “I don’t know that I’m any closer to that goal.”

Taemin shook his head.

“No. I think you’ve got it all wrong, Park Jimin. No one achieves what you have without knowing who they are. You’ve always been a fighter and some part of you realizes that.” He sighed heavily and finished off the rest of his drink. “Now I think you’re just... waiting.”

“For what?” Jimin chuckled playfully.

Taemin pulled out another bottle and met his gaze with a knowing grin.

“Something worth fighting for.”

———◐———

Now...

———◐———

Jimin remained unnaturally still, watching his rival barrel towards him with almost calculated intent.

Namjoon’s arm drew back to land the first strike and-

It was fast.

So fast it almost seemed like magic.

One moment the Kim alpha was the barest breath away from a swift and decisive victory-

Then he was crashing backwards onto the dirt.

Those who watched carefully saw Park Jimin spin into a vicious kick, one that connected solidly with the middle of his opponent’s chest.

Stunned silence pressed in from every side as Namjoon scrambled back to his feet, his expression wavering wildly between excruciating pain and monumental shock.

Jimin smiled, letting his razor sharp canines lengthen menacingly as he flowed back into a perfect combat stance.

“You didn’t think I’d just let you have her, did you?”

Please comment if you would like to be added to the taglist! If you have already asked, you will be tagged automatically in every update.

Please please please let me know what you thought of this chapter! (*insert puppy face here*) I am so excited to hear what you think of everything that went down in this update and I savor each word of feedback like fine wine. Your theories and commentary have been such a gift. It truly keeps me writing.

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literallymechanical · 3 years

Text

NFT’s Are Stupider Than You Think

tl;dr if you want the full-res, 21,000 x 21,000 pixel, 300 MB image from the 69 million dollar Beeple NFT, skip to the bottom for the download link. It’s not piracy or hackery, it’s just a feature of how NFT’s work.

[Image ID: The low-resolution preview image for Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, as posted on the Christie’s auction website]

Okay so we’ve all know that NFT’s—and crypto mining in general—are an environmental nightmare, in terms of ridiculous energy costs. Also, most people are aware that the digital asset itself (often artwork) that corresponds to the NFT isn’t stored on the blockchain. But there are a few more issues that aren’t as widely understood, judging by the reporting I’m seeing.

Let’s use the 69 million dollar Beeple NFT as an example. Before anything else, here’s the auction house where Beeple sold it. (I’m using bare URL’s in this post, to make it more clear where each link leads)

https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/beeple-first-5000-days/beeple-b-1981-1/112924

This is a screenshot from that page. I’ve highlighted the smart contract address, 0x2a46f2ffd99e19a89476e2f62270e0a35bbf0756. That’s the address of the NFT itself on the Ethereum blockchain. Also note the Token ID, 40913. Without listing these data so you can verify what you’re buying, the auction is meaningless. This appears to be an older token protocol, I think? Usually you can just get the Token ID from the smart contract without having to list it separately. I’m not an expert, idk.

Also, a very very quick primer: A blockchain (in this case, the Ethereum blockchain) is basically a verifiable, unforgeable, secure, publicly-viewable ledger, where you provably say “I have sole control over this piece of data.”

Anyway, the typical way to interact with the Ethereum blockchain is a website like etherscan.io, like so:

https://etherscan.io/address/0x2a46f2ffd99e19a89476e2f62270e0a35bbf0756

That’s the Beeple’s Everydays smart contract. Remember all this for later. Let’s move on to the stupidity. First...

The artwork isn’t stored on the blockchain. But neither is the metadata you own.

Most people are aware of this, to some extent. The artwork itself isn’t on the blockchain, just a piece of metadata, right?

Well, no, it’s actually stupider. The metadata isn’t on the blockchain. The only thing that’s actually stored on the blockchain is a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier), which in practice is almost always either a URL (web address) or an IPFS hash (InterPlanetary File System address), but it could be any kind of address. Hell, it could literally be GPS coordinates, if you want. Usually it’s an IPFS hash, though.

Here’s the URI that’s stored in the Beeple NFT. You can get it from that etherscan.io link by going to the “contract” tab and entering “40913″ into the tokenURI query.

ipfs://ipfs/QmPAg1mjxcEQPPtqsLoEcauVedaeMH81WXDPvPx3VC5zUz

For most NFT’s it’s easier than that, you can get the TokenID from the contract? Again, I’m not an expert, but I think this is an outdated token protocol called “Erc20.”

Since this is an IPFS hash, not a url, you can’t quite just type it into a typical web browser. First you should turn it into a web address by using an IPFS gateway, such as ipfs.io:

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmPAg1mjxcEQPPtqsLoEcauVedaeMH81WXDPvPx3VC5zUz

If you’re on tumblr mobile and clicking links is annoying, here’s a screenshot of what you’ll find at that address.

[Image ID: A screenshot of the JSON text file linked by the expensive Beeple NFT. It lists metadata for the artwork.]

The URI you own can die at any time

The point of storing things on a blockchain is that they are immutable, and verifiable, and can’t be forged. "ipfs://ipfs/QmPAg1... etc.” isn’t going anywhere, and is provably yours.

However, the text file that lives at that URI? That screenshot? That’s not stored on the blockchain, and it can disappear. You own the GPS coordinates of a storage locker full of paintings, but that doesn’t help you if the metaphorical storage facility burns down. Or if whoever has the key to the storage locker (often the original artist, and/or the auction website) comes in and replaces everything with pictures of rugs.

[Image ID: A tweet where an artist explains that they replaced their NFT artwork with pictures of carpets, “pulling the rug” on their auctions.]

Both of these things are already happening. A lot of NFT’s are already “abandoned,” asserting ownership over a dead URI. IPFS storage is supposed to take care of that, but in practice it’s poorly implemented, and even when done right it isn’t as failsafe as they’d have you believe. IPFS peer-to-peer storage is slightly less fragile that just storing a file on a website, but not by much. If the IPFS node goes down, the file is lost.

Does this sound like it wildly defeats the purpose of using decentralized blockchain storage in the first place? You’re right! It does.

If the auction website you bought your NFT on goes out of business, you will almost certainly lose the NFT you bought. And we all know how stable web startups are lol. Anyway, next up...

You don’t have exclusive access to anything

A lot of people think of owning an NFT like they own a painting. They have the artwork. They can keep it to themselves, or they can display it in a gallery with their name next to it, but everybody knows it’s theirs! NFT startups use this as a selling point. They say anybody can have a print of the Mona Lisa, but only you own the original.

This is dumb, because in the case of digital art, the print and the original are identical in every way. Every single 1 and 0 is the same, and if URI goes down, who cares who bought it? The NFT says you just own a URI that points to a text file. And by design, that URI is public. This isn’t a hack, or a bug. This is the entire point. But the people who run auction sites can be hella disingenuous about that.

Here’s that text file again. Notice this bit I just highlighted at the bottom?

That’s a separate IPFS hash for the actual image file. MakersPlace wrote this NFT incorrectly by using their own makersplace.com IPFS gateway instead of just posting the highlighted bit on its own—if MakersPlace goes out of business, that link will die—so instead I’ll link to that hash through the ipfs.io gateway, which is probably less likely to break any time soon.

But if it does, there are plenty more... until the MakersPlace IPFS node goes down, in which case it’s just gone forever no matter what lol.

So, without further ado...

WARNING: THIS IS A DIRECT LINK TO A 319 MEGABYTE JPEG. IF YOU’RE ON MOBILE, THAT MIGHT MAKE YOUR PHONE SAD IDK.

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXkxpwAHCtDXbbZHUwqtFucG1RMS6T87vi1CdvadfL7qA

You’re welcome.

#nft

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rudjedet · 4 years

Note

Sorry if I'm being ignorant, but what exactly was wrong with the whole "reconstructing the mummy's voice" thing? I've seen you reference it a couple of times as a misstep, but I haven't heard many others saying that, so I'd deeply appreciate your explanation.

It was an ethic clusterfuck of epic proportions, and basically all of Egyptology went “What??? the fuck??????”.

The main point is, of course, that a mummy can’t consent to any type of research done on their bodies. That’s why we have ethics in place, and almost every Egyptologist I know has either been taught ethics over the course of their degree, or, if they got their degree prior to ethics become more and more of a concern (as it should), worked to teach themselves. The scientists involved with this research are, barring one, not Egyptologists, and basically they treated Nesyamun as having never been anything more than an inanimate study object. They did try to give an ethical justification, but this “justification” was based on a poor and partial reading of Egyptian funerary beliefs. It was, quite frankly, more of an insult than it was a justification.

They used one of Nesyamun’s epithets, as written on his coffin, namely mAa-xrw, ‘justified’, or more literally: ‘true of voice’. This was claimed to denote Nesyamun’s wish to “speak and be heard after death by the living”. From their paper (emphasis mine):

This was a vital clarification within ancient Egyptian culture in which the name was regarded as essential to an individual as their physical (mummified) body and their soul (ka) and spirit (ba). It was also a fundamental belief that ‘to speak the name of the dead is to make them live again’ (alternatively translated: ‘a man is revived when his name is pronounced’), both by living relatives and by the deceased themselves when appearing before the gods of judgement. Only those able to verbally confirm that they had led a virtuous life were granted entry into eternity and awarded the epithet ‘maat kheru’, ‘true of voice’, as applied to Nesyamun himself throughout his coffin inscriptions. In these texts, Nesyamun asks that his soul receives eternal sustenance, is able to move around freely and to see and address the gods as he had in his working life. Therefore his documented wish to be able to speak after his death, combined with the excellent state of his mummified body, made Nesyamun the ideal subject for the ‘Voices from the Past’ project for which his body was re-examined using state-of the-art CT scanning equipment.

Two problems already:

mAa-xrw is an epithet given to literally every deceased person. A deceased becomes mAa-xrw by virtue of having passed through the afterlife trials; it was nothing specific to Nesyamun.

mAa-xrw, and by extension the desire to be able to speak one’s own name in death, does not mean they want their mummy to physically speak in the realm of the living. mAa-xrw is a state of being, not a wish to enact.

So their justification was, if not an outright deliberate twisting of Egyptian funerary beliefs, at the very least a complete misunderstanding of these beliefs. If you read the rest of the paper, it becomes clear they’re mostly doing it for the interest it’d garner among a lay public. They talk about how it can “excite” people to hear “a mummy’s voice”, etc. But the research as it is did literally nothing to further the field of Egyptology, when that’s the only valid reason to even begin thinking about doing research on a mummy.

This is all bad enough, but it doesn’t stop there!

Another concern is the fact that after three millennia, even though Nesyamun was preserved so well, his voice box still was not complete. They would have to reconstruct the fleshy flappy parts from scratch anyway if they wanted a fully functional box. So this whole thing was all moot because it would never be able to approximate Nesyamun’s voice in life. Even if it has been able to, what would be the use? It’s not like we can ask the reconstructed voice box how to pronounce Late Egyptian. All we can do is make it say the things we want it to say.

This is usually the point where non-experts will - usually in good faith - point out that this type of research can be valuable for living people with incomplete/non-functional voice apparatuses. To them I have only one thing to say: it would NOT be hard to find living subjects who can actually consent to being scanned and have 3D-printed reconstructions done based on their voice box.

And lastly, the thing that’s just actually gross: they used their own voices - white researchers! - to make Nesyamun’s voice box emit a sound not unlike a dying goat. A human being, reduced to memes and laughter on the internet, because of these researchers’ vanity project.

And then they had the gall to say that “the benefits outweight the concerns”:

Since human remains have unique status not as ‘objects’ but as the remains of once-living people (see SI), it was also necessary to consider the ethical issues raised by the research and its possible heritage outcomes. The team concluded that the potential benefits outweighed the concerns, particularly because Nesyamun’s own words express his desire to ‘speak again’ and that the scientific techniques used were non-destructive.

No, they the fuck do not. You can’t just say “well, you know, since the science we used was non-destructive, everything’s A-OK!” when you’re blatantly fucking around with a human’s body for the coolness factor and using a screwed up reading of Egyptian funerary beliefs to “justify” it.

#egyptology #nesyamun #ethics #lordgibbon #I can't abide the hypocrisy #just say you don't think of mummies as human and go #PS. any anger in this ask is wholly directed at the team and not at you haha #don't worry about something being perceived as ignorance if you literally just want to find out what it is I'm talking about xx

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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Here's a quandary I've suddenly found myself in: where do you stand on writers deleting their own works, fanfiction or otherwise? I've had this happen to me on more than one occasion - I go to look for an old favorite and find it's since been deleted from whatever site I read it on.

On the one hand, I'm inclined to think that, "Sure. The author wrote it, it's their call. I don't own the work - I certainly didn't pay for it. It's their decision, even if it's disappointing."

But at the same time I can't help but consider the alternative - if I believe in death of the author (and I do), that an author's work fundamentally isn't solely theirs once it's been published, posted, etc., then it also seems wrong to have a work deleted. Stories aren't the sole property of their creator, after all.

But then I circle back. D'you think there are different obligations between authors and readers and the works being made in fandom space? I know if I had bought a book and the author decided they wanted it back, I would feel pretty comfortable telling them no, given I'd paid for it and whatnot. But that's a different world from fanfic and fandom space generally.

So. You're insightful Clyde, I'm curious as to what you'll have to say here (and to all y'all thinking about it, don't flame me. I haven't decided where I stand here yet - haven't heard a good nail-in-the-coffin argument for or against yet).

Val are you a mind reader now? I’ve been thinking about this exact conundrum the last few days!

(And yeah, as a general disclaimer: no flaming. Not allowed. Any asks of the sort will be deleted on sight and with great satisfaction.)

Honestly, I’m not sure there is a “nail-in-the-coffin argument” for this, just because—as you lay out—there are really good points for keeping works around and really good points for allowing authors to have control over their work, especially when fanworks have no payment/legal obligations attached. In mainstream entertainment, your stories reflect a collaborative effort (publisher, editor, cover artists, etc.) so even if it were possible to delete the physical books out of everyone’s home and library (and we're ignoring the censorship angle for the moment), that’s no longer solely the author’s call, even if they have done the lion’s share of the creative work. Though fanworks can also, obviously, be collaborative, they’re usually not collaborative in the same way (more “This fic idea came about from discord conversations, a couple tumblr posts, and that one headcanon on reddit”) and they certainly don’t have the same monetary, legal, and professional strings attached. I wrote this fic as a hobby in my free time. Don’t I have the right to delete it like I also have the right to tear apart the blankets I knit?

Well yes… but also no? I personally view fanworks as akin to gifts—the academic term for our communities is literally “gift economy”—so if we view it like that, suddenly that discomfort with getting rid of works is more pronounced. If I not only knit a blanket, but then gift it to a friend, it would indeed feel outside of my rights to randomly knock on their door one day and go, “I actually decided I hate that? Please give it back so I can tear it to shreds, thanks :)” That’s so rude! And any real friend would try to talk me out of it, explaining both why they love the blanket and, even if it’s not technically the best in terms of craftsmanship, it holds significant emotional value to them. Save it for that reason alone, at least. Fanworks carry that same meaning—“I don’t care if it’s full of typos, super cliché, and using some outdated, uncomfortable tropes. This story meant so much to me as a teenager and I’ll always love it”—but the difference in medium and relationships means it’s easier to ignore all that. I’m not going up to someone’s house and asking face-to-face to destroy something I gave them (which is awkward as hell. That alone deters us), I’m just pressing a button on my computer. I’m not asking this of a personal friend that is involved in my IRL experiences, I’m (mostly) doing this to online peers I know little, if anything, about. It’s easy to distance ourselves from both the impact of our creative work and the act of getting rid of it while online. On the flip-side though, it’s also easier to demean that work and forget that the author is a real person who put a lot of effort into this creation. If someone didn’t like my knitted blanket I gave them as a gift, they’re unlikely to tell me that. They recognize that it’s impolite and that the act of creating something for them is more important than the construction’s craftsmanship. For fanworks though, with everyone spread around the world and using made up identities, people have fewer filters, happily tearing authors to shreds in the comments, sending anon hate, and the like. The fact that we’re both prefacing this conversation with, “Please don’t flame” emphasizes that. So if I wrote a fic with some iffy tropes, “cringy” dialogue, numerous typos, whatever and enough people decided to drag me for it… I don’t know whether I’d resist the urge to just delete the fic, hopefully ending those interactions. There’s a reason why we’re constantly reminding others to express when they enjoy someone else’s work: the ratio of praise to criticism in fandom (or simply praise to seeming indifference because there was no public reaction at all), is horribly skewed.

So I personally can’t blame anyone for deleting. I’d like to hope that more people realize the importance of keeping fanworks around, that everything you put out there is loved by someone… but I’m well aware that the reality is far more complicated. It’s hard to keep that in mind. It’s hard to keep something around that you personally no longer like. Harder still to keep up a work you might be harassed over, that someone IRL discovered, that you’re disgusted with because you didn’t know better back then… there are lots of reasons why people delete and I ultimately can’t fault them for that. I think the reasons why people delete stem more from problems in fandom culture at large—trolling, legal issues, lack of positive feedback, cancel culture, etc.—than anything the author has or has not personally done, and since such work is meant to be a part of an enjoyable hobby… I can’t rightly tell anyone to shoulder those problems, problems they can’t solve themselves, just for the sake of mine or others’ enjoyment. The reason I’ve been thinking about this lately is because I was discussing Attack on Titan and how much I dislike the source material now, resulting in a very uncomfortable relationship with the fics I wrote a few years back. I’ve personally decided to keep them up and that’s largely because some have received fantastic feedback and I’m aware of how it will hurt those still in the fandom if I take them down. So if a positive experience is the cornerstone of me keeping fics up, I can only assume that negative experiences would likewise been the cornerstone of taking them down. And if getting rid of that fic helps your mental health, or solves a bullying problem, or just makes you happier… that, to me, is always more important than the fic itself.

But, of course, it’s still devastating for everyone who loses the work, which is why my compromise-y answer is to embrace options like AO3’s phenomenal orphaning policy. That’s a fantastic middle ground between saving fanworks and allowing authors to distances themselves from them. I’ve also gotten a lot more proactive about saving the works I want to have around in the future. Regardless of whether we agree with deleting works or not, the reality is we do live in a world where it happens, so best to take action on our own to save what we want to keep around. Though I respect an author’s right to delete, I also respect the reader’s right to maintain access to the work, once published, in whatever way they can. That's probably my real answer here: authors have their rights, but readers have their rights too, so if you decide to publish in the first place, be aware that these rights might, at some point, clash. I download all my favorite fics to Calibre and, when I’m earning more money (lol) I hope to print and bind many for my personal library. I’m also willing to re-share fic if others are looking for them, in order to celebrate the author’s work even if they no longer want anything to do with it. Not fanfiction in this case, but one of my fondest memories was being really into Phantom of the Opera as a kid and wanting, oh so desperately, to read Susan Kay’s Phantom. Problem was, it was out of print at the time, not available at my library, and this was before the age of popping online and finding a used copy. For all intents and purposes, based on my personal situation, this was a case of a book just disappearing from the world. So when an old fandom mom on the message boards I frequented offered to type her copy up chapter by chapter and share it with me, you can only imagine how overjoyed I was. Idk what her own situation was that something like scanning wouldn’t work, but the point is she spent months helping a fandom kid she barely knew simply because a story had resonated with her and she wanted to share it. That shit is powerful!

So if someone wants to delete—if that’s something they need right now—I believe that is, ultimately, their decision… but please try your hardest to remember that the art you put out into the world is having an impact and people will absolutely miss it when it’s gone. Often to the point of doing everything they can to put it back out into the world even if you decide to take it out. Hold onto that feeling. The love you have for your favorite fic, fanart, meta, whatever it is? Someone else has that for your work too. I guarantee it.

So take things down as needed, but for the love of everything keep copies for yourself. You may very well want to give it back to the world someday.

#fandom #fic things #mymetas #never any easy questions on this blog huh? lol

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monstersandmaw · 3 years

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Please don't put your stories behind a paywall and make them not accessible on here anymore! I reread them constantly and if you took them down and put up a paywall like you did with your patreon ones for these I wouldn't be able to afford to read them. I know other writers have done this on here and it broke my heart. Please please please don't do it.

I... *blinks* what??? Where is this coming from???

I have absolutely no plans to put anything that I've posted for free on here behind any kind of paywall??? I literally don't know where you've got this from, Anon, but I'm happy to tell you that if it's been posted for free on here, it'll stay free on here. Forever. I think it'd be kind of shitty of me to remove my stories after they've been posted for free. (If it was shared specifically as a preview for an upcoming project, then I think that's different, but most of my stuff on here is posted in full, for free from the outset).

Stuff of mine that people have paid to access on Patreon will not be posted for free on here though, and it was never intended to be posted on here because my patrons paid to read it. It'd be a huge slap in the face to them if I just then went and posted it for free on here, but I'm not going the other way and putting free stuff behind some kind of paywall.

If this is because of a general "Post+ panic", then fear not. This blog will remain free forever. If people want to support my writing with a financial 'thank you', you can leave me a kofi donation or buy something from my shop, and if they aren't able to do that, a reblog is all I ask if they enjoyed it.

Since you mentioned Patreon though, and as a general and quick aside, please remember that an author has the right to make money from their hard work if they choose to. Quality writing takes so much time and energy to produce after all. I would obviously consider it polite for an author to tell readers from the start if there are plans for something to be pay-to-access in the future, but at the end of the day, creators have the right to make a living from their work by charging people for it. And if you get something for free, you don't own it. It's like having access to a free art gallery; you can visit as many times as you like, but you don't get to take a print of it home if you don't pay for it.

TLDR: my free stuff isn't going anywhere and I don't know where you got that from.

#?#post+#anon ask

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ladychlo · 2 years

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hey chay, i have a genuine question for you, you can ignore me if you want (or answer me in the tags) and tell me to fuck off, i love everything you post - it amazes me how fast you are to think of something and then post it - but i notice that you don't always tag your posts as yours (some pics and gifs) and i wonder if you actually make them or if you are using someone elses' edit without giving the proper credit? i don't mean to sound rude, i'm sorry if i do, it's just that i've delt with people using my work without giving proper credit (and geting way more notes than i do) and it's really annoying and unfair

hi love,

no its all mine lol, I don't tag because I forget to tag most of the things I post, either edits or any reblog, except for one tag ''library'' cause I go back to it, it has fics and resources I put etc, most edits I just put edit sometimes I don't bc I don't see why? since I don't have a proper system for tagging, my tagging is literally just random, the second proper tag is ''Soleil Soleil and that's just for some pics of Louis, the third one is just ''my art'' because it's my drawing I have them linked in a page for people if they want to see them or use them (a signature is CL on all of them but edits I don't put my @, maybe a habit but I just forget), another tag for edits is ''poster'' well because I used to make tour posters and some want to print them and that's an easier tag for them to find. if I use someone's pics (except if its from their photographer and hq or paps) I link the source or link the gif source as much as possible (sometimes I cant always find it, if I had in my laptop already or through google search) but some gifs I make them (like the harry doing the traffic dance etc etc)

other than that I pay no attention to tagging or anything, I just log in reblog what I like, post what I like if I feel to, and all, my blog for most parts is random.

#also side note you can just trace back source of post of the edit

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omniswords · 4 years

Text

Beep [Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng]

And sometimes… Ma knows best. Even when you don’t want her to.

A companion fic to Buzz, and yet again inspired by @cogamori‘s art (found here ). Please enjoy! Thank you in advance for any reblogs.

As a quick note: This, and the next part of Padlock, will be the last updates for a little bit. I’m finally getting out my other two wisdom teeth, so I’ll be spending this week resting and recovering. I promise I’ll be back with more afterwards!

💙🎶💖

Marinette looks beautiful when she’s sleeping.

Luka doesn’t know how long he’s been watching her, doesn’t even know what time it is, but could anyone really blame him for losing track of time? Even when she’s awake, she doesn’t have to do much to pull him in; all she has to do is smile, or tie up her hair the way she does just as she’s about to get down to business. or just. Be alive. And he’s sunk.

There’s something just as lovely, just as mesmerizing—maybe even more so—when she sleeps, even with what little light he has coming through the portholes. Maybe it’s because, for one of the few times in her life, she’s actually allowing herself to let go. She doesn��t have to be doing her best all the time, doesn’t have to keep up any appearances or meet any deadlines or smile through anyone else’s demands. All she has to do is curl up against the warmth of his body, and press her heartbeat to his just under the covers, and breathe.

His arm is going numb where her head rests on it now, his snake-print throw pillow squished between them. Her hair is tickling his collarbone, and the music they put on just before settling down for the night is still playing softly in the background. But he doesn’t dare move just yet. Not yet. She’s done too much to deserve waking, and he couldn’t move or leave her if he tried. Even her body seems to tell him not to, from how she whimpers and clings to him in her sleep. Don’t go, says her leg, thrown over his hips. Don’t leave me, whisper her fingers, curling tight into his tank top.

She should know better, Luka thinks as he smiles and kisses the top of her head. It’s been three years. He isn’t going anywhere.

He doesn’t let himself dwell on all the times she could have gone—maybe even did go—instead. Partly because he’s listening for the song to fade and turn over. And partly because it’s hard to focus on many other things when his third favorite person in the world, and arguably the love of his life, is so close to him, loving him unconsciously. And it’s also partly because, out of the corner of his eye, his phone lights up and catches his attention with a soft beep. Normally, he’d ignore it in favor of a little more shut-eye and deal with the consequences when he woke up. But between Juleka spending the night at Rose’s and his mom working a graveyard shift, something tells him he ought to make sure they’re okay.

Carefully, so as not to wake Marinette, he wrestles his free arm out from under the oversized snake plush she got him as an anniversary gift. He pauses along the way to tug down the hem of her shirt, which is riding almost embarrassingly high, and as he reaches for his phone just behind her, he presses his lips to her forehead for what he hopes is long enough, but knows never could be. Still here, his kisses reassure her. Not going anywhere, his fingers murmur, catching on the soft warmth of her skin.

He has to squint and blink a few times as his vision comes into focus. Sure, his lock screen is dark, and he keeps his phone perpetually on night mode, but it’s still far brighter—at least literally—than anything else in his room. It’s an hour before midnight, and as it turns out, he isn’t terribly off the mark; he’s got three text messages, all from his Ma, and he can hear each of them in her voice almost perfectly.

Marinette’s still staying the night, yeah?

You two best be using protection. Just because your sister can’t go around having scares doesn’t mean you’re off the hook!

Boy, if you don’t answer your phone!

Luka rolls his eyes in some combination of fatigue and good nature. Of course his Ma knows what they do sometimes—he’s been open with her about it, because she’s always made it perfectly clear that he and Juleka can get up to anything they want as long as they’re not hurting anyone and being safe about it. He just gets the sense, most of the time, that she thinks it’s all they ever do when they’re alone. And sure, it’s nice when they do get to do that. But sometimes, he thinks, he doesn’t need to. Holding Marinette, and looking at her, and listening to her talk about her day, and merely getting the chance to exist with her—all of that is more than enough for him.

With a sigh, he swipes out a reply with his thumb: we were *sleeping,* Ma. and we’ll still be sleeping when you get home. don’t worry about us, okay? It should be enough for her, and when he puts his phone face-down and pushes it away, Marinette shudders and squirms and huddles closer to him. He can forgive her, even though it’s the middle of July, because at least they have a portable art conditioner among the heaps of stuff the Liberty manages to carry—and he’d hardly pass up the opportunity to hold her anyway. “Cold?” he hums as she’s beginning to stir.

She shakes her head and burrows closer still, as though she simply can’t have enough of him. (When did it change? when did she start needing him like this?) “You smell good,” she mumbles, and her mouth shyly finds his neck for a kiss. “What time is it?”

He laughs softly. She always says that when they’re close. “Time to go back to sleep.”

“What’s wrong?”

“What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“You don’t usually wake up in the middle of the night,” she says, “That’s my job.”

He smiles into her hair, reaches to thread his fingers through it. “So am I gonna have to go with you to New York in the fall just to make sure you get a good night’s sleep?”

Marinette giggles sleepily, which Luka takes as a no and which sets his whole heart on fire. “Noooo,” she says, shifting on top of him. He almost forgets how to speak, what with the street lamps glittering in her eyes and the moonlight in her hair. “You have to stay here and tell me everything that’s happening in Paris, and take care of the Captain and Juleka—”

“They’re big girls,” he points out, propping himself up on his elbows; their noses brush, and he fails to resist the urge to kiss hers. “They can take care of themselves, you know…”

“Stay,” she mumbles again. Her hair is messy from sleep and falling into her eyes, and it might be the most beautiful thing Luka’s ever seen. “I don’t want you giving up what makes you happy. Don’t want you giving up your dream just to help me with mine.”

This time, Luka bumps his nose to hers. “Is this the part where I quote Tangled?”

Marinette’s starting to wake up a little more now, and she tilts her head and gives him an endearing smile. “Your music,” she breathes, catching his wrist and kissing it as he cradles her face. “Cause you deserve to be at every street corner, playing for everybody in Paris. Making it at every coffee shop and club you want, raking in all the replays, getting Jagged Stone’s attention. I want that for you, Luka.” She blinks owlishly, even yawns a little, but she doesn’t look away. “I wanna hear you on the radio sometime.”

“You can hear me right now.” He hums, his gaze flickering over every part of her face. Before she can argue that he knows what she means, he coaxes his hand out of her grip, trailing his knuckles down the dip in her spine until he finds the small of her back. “Tell you what,” he murmurs, his fingers slipping just under the hem of her shirt to comfort her. “We’ll video chat before you go to bed. And I’ll stay on so you can fall asleep to me.”

Her eyes spark. “What’s in it for you?”

“Well…” He shrugs as casually as he can manage. “I figure it’ll be six in the morning here, something like that. What’s better than getting to watch the sunrise with my girlfriend while she’s studying abroad?”

Marinette’s face breaks into a smile, and when she shifts again, it’s to kiss him over and over again, and answer him in between. “Mm… how ‘bout getting to watch the sunrise with your girlfriend while she’s still here?”

“You want to? Tomorrow?” He smiles against her cheek. “Cause we’re gonna have to go back to sleep to do that…”

She nods, sounds like she’s about to say yes, but then his hands slip to the backs of her thighs, and her breath hitches, and she bites her lip to stifle whatever sound threatens to escape.

This time, Luka grins, and he gives another daring squeeze. “Take it back…?”

Marinette nods again, more frantically now, and it’s as he’s coaxing her down for a lazy, hungry kiss that he decides it’s okay if his Ma is right.

Just this once.

#miraculous ladybug #lukanette #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #back at it again with the soft and spicy

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